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Wayne-Westland trustee outlines $125 million bond to update schools including Walker‑Winter Elementary
Summary
A Wayne-Westland Community Schools trustee presented details of a $125 million facilities bond on Oct. 14 to the Canton Township Board of Trustees, emphasizing infrastructure improvements and work planned for Walker‑Winter Elementary, which the district decided to keep open after previously planning to close it.
Andrew Ambers, a trustee with the Wayne‑Westland Community Schools, asked the Canton Township Board of Trustees on Oct. 14 to consider a $125 million bond proposal that will appear on the Nov. 2025 ballot to pay for school infrastructure work across the district.
Ambers said the bond is "nuts and bolts" funding for roofs, parking lots and information‑technology upgrades to ensure students have internet access throughout buildings. He told the board that the proposal includes new HVAC work and other safety and infrastructure updates at Walker‑Winter Elementary, which had been left out of a 2018 bond because the district then planned to close the school. "A portion of this bond is actually going to update Walker Winter, with a new HVAC system," Ambers said. "If you've been in the building, heat works okay. Air conditioning doesn't work throughout the entire building."
Ambers said the 2018 bond did not include Walker‑Winter because of closure plans; the district last year reversed that decision and decided to keep the school open. He described the broader bond as intended to keep "our students safe, warm, and dry," and said the district plans to continue the current millage rate rather than ask voters for a higher levy.
Board members asked questions about the district's decision to keep Walker‑Winter open. Ambers said rising enrollment and nearby housing development in parts of Canton drove the change: "The problem with Walker Winter is... most of the students that go there are, for lack of a better term, transient... Enrollment goes up and down." He added that other elementary schools lacked capacity. Trustee comments noted that parts of Canton attend Wayne‑Westland schools and that the district's Career Technical Education Center is located adjacent to John Glenn High School, making the bond relevant to many Canton residents.
No formal action by the Canton Township Board was required for the presentation; Ambers appeared as an invited speaker to explain the ballot proposal.
Looking ahead, the bond will appear on the Nov. 2025 ballot for Wayne‑Westland Community Schools; voters in those parts of Canton that attend Wayne‑Westland will decide whether to approve it.
